Empty
by by7the7sea
Summary: Missing scene where Roger and John talk after John gets his powers taken away. Chapter 2 starts off with John returning to the Lair and includes his talk with Cara.
1. Chapter 1 - Roger's POV

Disclaimer: The Tomorrow People is the Property of the CW. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's note: _Italics_ indicate flashbacks.

xxx TTP xxx

Roger watched as Cara left with Russell and a couple of others. He wasn't sure where they were going but he didn't think it was going to be a fun mission. The determined look on Cara's face almost frightened him.

Knowing Cara was a strong telepath, he knew there was no way he could get into her mind to find out what was going on, so he got a glimpse into Russell's before they teleported away. What Roger saw shocked and saddened him. He saw Russell going over to John and asking what's up and why TIM said he needed help. The look in John's eyes and his body language broke Roger's heart. Roger saw the emptiness, despair and humiliation John felt. Once he saw Russell take John by the arm and teleport him into the Lair, that was all he needed to know.

Roger initially was glad to see that John was still alive ... he knew what the Founder was capable of .. but then to realize what actually happened, it almost tore him apart. The guilt of what he and his brother did to John was hard enough to deal with, and now this? John losing his powers because he got caught in the trap the Founder had laid for him? He needed to see John, but really didn't know what he would say to him.

As he worked up the courage to go talk to him, he remembered the first time he sought John out. Jedikiah had asked him to check on their youngest recruit. His brother was concerned about the boy after what he had just witnessed.

_"You're a father, you already know how to deal with kids," Jedikiah told Roger. "Just make sure he's okay." _

Roger laughed at the thought that just because he was a father made him better qualified to talk to the boy. Jed just didn't realize it was a constant learning process. The key is to do your best.

The look in Jedikiah's eyes made Roger realize for the first time that there was something special about the kid ... at least to his brother. It wasn't like Jedikiah to get attached to a recruit.

Jed had explained how the boy had used his powers in front of a human and, per company policy, the human had to be eliminated. He also told Roger how the Founder had wanted the same for John too, but Jed was able to talk him out of it. He just had to make sure the kid learned the lesson.

_"Jed, you don't expose a boy to something like that!" Roger reprimanded his brother. _

_"John had to see what the consequences were for his actions," Jed retaliated. "These are dark times, Roger. He needed to learn this lesson now."_

John ... always paying for trying to do the right thing. He tried to protect his friend at the newsstand; he tried to save the Tomorrow People; he tried to save Roger ... all noble pursuits that have cost him dearly.

Thinking back to that little boy and the talk they had inspired Roger. Maybe he did know what he could tell him.

Roger walked over to TIM's room and found John leaning back on the couch with his eyes closed.

"Hello, John," Roger said as he entered the room.

No response.

"John?"

"What do you want?" John said quietly, his voice cracking a bit. He didn't even open his eyes.

"Just checking on you. Are you okay?" Roger felt stupid saying it, but he wasn't sure how else to approach him.

"Don't worry, I didn't give you up to the Founder," John still wouldn't look at Roger. "The only reason he let me live is to deliver a message to Cara. It's been delivered and now ... I'm done."

Roger walked closer to John. There was something about the way John said _"__I__'__m done__" _that concerned him.

"John ... I know you didn't," Roger sat down next to John on the couch. "Thank you for everything you have done for me, my family and the Tomorrow People."

Roger noticed how John flinched slightly at that last part.

"Did you want something else?" John said. "Because I'd really like to be alone right now."

Hoping to give John some encouragement, Roger started to say, "Just wanted to remind you, John. It's always darkest just before ..."

John, finally looking at Roger, quickly cut him off, "Now is not the time for your ... useless ... platitudes. I have no powers. I'm human now and there is no light coming."

John got up and walked out of the room before Roger could say anymore.


	2. Chapter 2 - John's POV

"Thanks, Russell," John said quietly as he walked away and headed toward TIM's room. He wanted to be alone. He was still getting used to feeling human. He felt drained ... emotionally and physically quite literally.

Russell hesitated wanting to say something but, when nothing came to him, he sighed and headed toward the common area.

As John entered the room, it struck him how the place looked the same, but felt different. It felt empty, kind of like a black hole. Subconsciously he was searching for the others, like when you have a tooth pulled and keep checking the empty space. The voices from the other inhabitants of the Lair drifted in, but that's all there was. He didn't feel their presence like he could before no matter how hard he tried.

John walked over to his desk and fingered the pieces and parts he used to tinker with. Well, there's one thing he should still be able to do. He sighed and made his way over to the window wall. A dark frost over them from years of neglect, there was nothing to see. It was just how he felt now. There was nothing left of him.

Backing up from the window, he bumped into the couch. He sat there and bowed his head. He was so tired and dreaded the task the Founder gave him. Not being able to telepathically contact Cara, how was he going to let her know he was there and had something to tell her?

It was a moot point, because soon Cara found him and wrapped him in a hug. He should have been able to take comfort in it, but he couldn't. It was missing something. He heard the relief in her voice, but that was all there was ... no thoughts to accompany it, no feeling her being there like before. He couldn't return the hug and once she let go, he couldn't look her in the eyes. He didn't want to just see her face, he wanted to feel her presence, but he couldn't. He didn't want to face the emptiness and he didn't want her to see the shell of the man he had become.

As John answered her questions about what happened and where he'd been, he walked away from her, going to sit on the couch. He dreaded having to reveal the awful fate that had befallen him.

When she asked why he didn't teleport, he had no choice. He had to face her with the dreadful truth of it: "I can't. He took my powers."

Seeing her shock and denial, he continued on ... finishing the chore he had been given. "The Founder set me free to give you a message. He said you need to negotiate a truce with him, a real one this time. It's the only way to keep ... " John had to take a moment when he realized what he was about to say and had to correct himself "... your people safe."

"Our people," Cara insisted.

"... will end up like me unless you convince The Founder that you're not the enemy. That's what he said. You gotta make a deal with him," John finished.

Cara left on her mission and John leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. He had delivered the Founder's message. He was too tired to think about anything else. He knew there was a lot he was going to have to figure out, but he was exhausted.

"Hello, John," Roger said as he entered the room.

John inwardly sighed. He really didn't want to deal with Roger right now.

"John?"

"What do you want?" John said quietly, his voice cracking a bit. He didn't even open his eyes to look at Roger.

"Just checking on you. Are you okay?" Roger said.

"Don't worry, I didn't give you up to the Founder," John figured that was the most important thing Roger needed to know. "The only reason he let me live is to deliver a message to Cara. It's been delivered and now ... I'm done."

When Roger came closer, John just wished he would leave.

"John ... I know you didn't," Roger sat down next to him on the couch. "Thank you for everything you have done for me, my family and the Tomorrow People."

John flinched slightly at that last part. Roger was just adding "salt in the wound". The Tomorrow People, the people he had dedicated most of his life to protecting, were no longer his people.

"Did you want something else?" John said impatiently. "Because I'd really like to be alone now."

"Just wanted to remind you, John. It's always darkest just before ..." Roger started to say.

John didn't want to hear it and finally looked at Roger, quickly cutting him off, "Now is not the time for your ... useless ... platitudes. I have no powers. I'm human now and there is no light coming."

John had had enough of this and walked out of the room before Roger could say anything else.


End file.
